We got on a hop on hop off bus just after 10am this morning and started with the Downtown loop. We started at Union Square & found out the big heart we had taken our photos with last night was painted with the same paint as the Golden Gate Bridge. The other side of the heart has a picture of San Francisco on it which was painted by Tony Bennett. Personally I preferred the plain side. We went past City Hall, Little Saigon, Chinatown & Little Italy. We chose this particular bus because they seemed to be the only ones with a live guide on board. They usually give us lots of good information about the things we are seeing but this guy was just cheesy & kept mentioning that we could tip him. So, I don't remember much about what he said. We also saw the Coit Tower (which I always thought was built to resemble a fire hose, but it is just a coincidence) and Lombard St (the crookedest street) but we weren't particularly close to either of them. If we take the car out again this week we might drive to them ourselves.
We had decided to get off at Pier 39. This is a major tourist attraction - lots of shops, places to eat, bike rentals & boat cruises. It is also home to the Pier 39 sea lions. After the earthquake in 1989 a few sea lions starting coming to K dock at Pier 39. By early 1990, the sea lions had completely taken over the dock. There are now hundreds of sea lions living here. There is plenty of food in the Bay for them & they are protected from predators. They are noisy - there is constantly a loud barking noise and they are a bit smelly. But, they are very distracting & we stood watching them for quite some time.
There is a musical staircase at Pier 39 which was pretty cool. As you step on each step a note plays. So when we walk up, a scale plays. We both went up & down them and then stood & watched while a seagull landed on the steps. As he jumped up each step, a note played. I wonder how you can get those stairs at home??? The cockatoos could keep the neighbourhood entertained!
After we finished at Pier 39 we walked around to Fisherman's Wharf. This is a working wharf where most of the boats are being operated by third generation descendants of fisherman who have made their living from fishing for years.
Fisherman's Wharf is well known for it's seafood. There are so many seafood restaurants down there from fine dining to fish alley. We had lunch in a fish alley place today. The crab season started in November - Dungeness crab. Clam chowder is another SF speciality. I got to try both by having the combo lunch. It was delicious!
We saw a warehouse full of antique arcade games so we went in. There were over 400 in there that were all owned by one man who started his collection when he was 11yrs old. He decided people should enjoy them so he set up the arcade. Most just needed a quarter to play. There were old fortune tellers, games, pianos and so on. They were very cool. We played quite a few of them.
It was while we were walking back to the bus pick up point that I dropped my camera. Unfortunately it has been playing up since.
We found that the 'purple bus loop' bus was leaving at 4pm so we got on that. This one took us over the Golden Gate Bridge, stopping at the vista points on both sides. The day had been very hazy. We could hardly see the bridge from Pier 39. But, it was much clearer by late afternoon & we had a great view. After crossing the bridge we went down to Sausalito. This is a waterfront area full of beautiful homes, galleries, shops & good food places. There were nice yachts in the bay & celebrities such as George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, AC/DC & Robin Williams all have homes here.
On the way back to San Francisco we went by The Presidio. This is a former military base that the public can now live in. But, it seems a bit strange to me. The residents pay big leases to live there but they can never own the properties. The Presidio is home to the Walt Disney Museum so we may visit the area again.
On the way back into town the driver pointed out some of the exclusive neighbourhoods in SF. The most expensive is Pacific Heights. Danielle Steele (the author) lives in the biggest mansion in Pacific Heights. It has 38 bedrooms & 16 fireplaces. Seems a bit over the top.
The driver took us back to Union Square which was very convenient. Tonight we walked down to Westfield. This was similar to the Westfield in the city with lots of high end stores & a level of restaurants. The restaurant level has a massive dome in the middle of it - Restaurants Under the Dome - and at the moment they are showing previews of the SF Ballet Company's production of The Nutcracker by projecting it onto the dome. We were lucky enough to see the last screening of the night.